The present invention relates to an independent suspension for the front wheels of a motor vehicle with a steering knuckle that is pivotable for steering purposes. The lower end of the knuckle is mounted on a lower suspension link, and its upper area is supported by a coupling rod to the lower suspension link and by an upper suspension link to the vehicle body.
A compact independent suspension for a steerable motor vehicle wheel is shown in DE 26 42 939. The known steering knuckle is articulated at three points by a lower semi-trailing link and an upper rod link on the vehicle body. The steering knuckle is supported by a coupling rod on the semi-trailing link. The articulation points between the steering knuckle and the two links are located on the steering axis. This limits the space available for the braking device on the wheel.
In addition, an independent suspension is shown in JP 08 156 545 A in which the lower end of the steering knuckle is articulated to the vehicle body by two separate lower individual links that are essentially horizontal. The upper end of the steering knuckle is supported firstly by an upper approximately horizontal individual link on the vehicle body and secondly by a coupling rod to one of the lower individual links. Because the intersection between the coupling rod and the upper individual link is far from the wheel, the line of application of the coupling rod does not intersect the theoretical steering axis. It also does not cross it in the vicinity of the steering knuckle at a short distance. Therefore, the wheel suspension takes up considerable space in the wheel well.